Ecotoxicity of Musa paradisiaca leaf extract-coated ZnO nanoparticles to the freshwater microcrustacean Ceriodaphnia cornuta

Currently, nanotechnology has gained much interest due to the unique properties of nanomaterials in science and technology. Different types of metallic nanoparticles are routinely synthesized. However, their release into the aquatic environments is a major ecotoxicological concern. In this scenario, it is important to study the potential impact of engineered nanoparticle in aquatic organisms especially freshwater microcrustaceans, such as Ceriodaphnia cornuta. In this study, ZnO NPs were synthesized using the aqueous leaf extracts of Musa paradisiaca and physico-chemically characterized by UV–Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infra red (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). UV–Vis spectroscopy recorded the absorbance peak of ZnO NPs at 338 nm. XRD analysis showed the various Bragg’s reflection peaks at 100, 002, 101, 102, 110, 103, 200, 112, 201, 004 and 202 lattice planes. FTIR spectroscopy outlined sharp intense peaks at 3416 cm⁻¹, 1388 and 1416 cm⁻¹. SEM showed the spherical shape of ZnO NPs with mean particle size of 23.3 nm. AFM confirmed the spherical shape, nanosize and 3D topography of NPs. The ecotoxicity of ZnO NPs was tested on the freshwater crustacean C. cornuta. ZnO NPs were comparatively less toxic than zinc acetate. ZnO NPs caused 42% mortality of C. cornuta at 50 μg mL⁻¹. However, 80% mortality was observed at 50 μg mL⁻¹ of zinc acetate after 24 h. Light and confocal laser scanning microscopic images evidenced the uptake and accumulation of ZnO NPs in the gut of C. cornuta at 50 μg mL⁻¹ after 24 h. Structural deformities were observed on C. cornuta after treatment with 50 μg mL⁻¹ of ZnO NPs. Overall, this study describes the potential impact of the biologically synthesized ZnO NPs in comparison with zinc acetate in the freshwater crustacean C. cornuta.     

Deriving hillslope sediment budgets in wildfire-affected forests using fallout radionuclide tracers

Information on post-fire sediment and nutrient redistribution is required to underpin post-fire catchment management decisions. Fallout radionuclide budgets (²¹⁰Pb_xs, ¹³⁷Cs and ⁷Be) were derived to quantify soil redistribution and sediment yield in forested terrain following a moderately severe wildfire in a small (89 ha) water supply catchment in SE Australia. Application of these techniques in burnt terrain requires careful consideration of the partitioning of radionuclides between organic and mineral soil components. Beryllium-7 and ²¹⁰Pb_xs were shown to be closely associated with ash, litter and soil organic matter whereas ¹³⁷Cs was more closely associated with subsurface coarse mineral soil. Comparison of the three tracer budgets indicated that the dominant sediment source areas were ridgetops and steep valley sideslopes, from which burnt surface material was conveyed to the stream network via pre-existing gullies. Erosion was predominantly driven by sheetwash, enhanced by soil water repellency, and modified by bioturbation which both supplies subsurface sediment and provides sinks for erosive overland flow. Footslope and riparian zones were not important sediment source areas. The estimated event-based (wildfire and subsequent rainfall) sediment yield is 58 ± 25 t km^− 2, based on fallout ⁷Be measurements. The upper estimate of total particulate phosphorus yield (0.70 kg ha^− 1) is more than 10 times that at equivalent unburnt sites. This illustrates that, soon after fire, burnt eucalypt forest can produce nutrient loads similar to those of agricultural catchments. The tracer budgets indicate that wildfire is an important control on sediment and phosphorus inputs to the stream network over the decadal timeframe and the pulsed nature of this release is an important concern for water quality management.     

湖泊自生碳酸盐碳同位素在环境变化中的应用

湖泊自生碳酸盐碳同位素组成(δ13Cc)在区域气候与环境变化方面的应用研究近年来进展迅速,成果显著,保存在各类湖泊沉积物柱芯中的δ13Cc记录揭示了湖表水体与大气CO2的交换程度、暖季降水量的多少、流域C3和C4植被变化情况、水生生物光合作用或呼吸作用强弱、湖泊生产力大小、湖泊水体化学特征、湖水不同深度层的有机质变化过程等重要的气候和环境信息;对此进行归纳和述评。     

国家湿地公园旅游环境容量问题与调控——以杭州西溪湿地为例

国家湿地公园的旅游环境容量问题多来源于园区内部属性和游客行为之间的差异,国家湿地公园面积大、生态系统独特,园区空间布局、管理制度、主题商品与设施建设、服务方面的不合理、不完善导致了局部时段性的超载现象,宜采取以游客行为为导向的容量调控模式(TBCC),从加强园区自身建设和管理入手调控游客空间流动,从内部提升视角解决容量超载问题,实现游客体验、环境保护、科普教育等多功能为一体的湿地公园建设目标。     

环境库兹涅茨曲线在文山县城的应用

环境库兹涅茨曲线认为随着经济发展，环境质量先下降后改善，环境质量与收入之间表现为倒U形曲线，这意味着经济发展最终会解决环境问题。应用这一思想，根据1991～2000年文山县城区大气污染指数及1998～2002年盘龙河水污染物浓度与同期人均居民收入进行了回归分析，发现对多数污染物而言，表现为N形的高次曲线能很好的拟合两者之间的关系，据此提出一种简单但普遍的机理来解释EKC曲线，即经济发展对环境质量的正负反馈作用决定其在涨落中演变。     

An approach for quantifying geomorphological impacts for EIA of transportation infrastructures: a case study in northern Spain

A methodological proposal for the assessment of impacts due to linear infrastructures such as motorways, railways, etc. is presented. The approach proposed includes a series of specific issues to be addressed for each geomorphological feature analysed—both ‘static’ and ‘dynamic’—as well as a series of steps to be followed in the process.Geomorphic characteristics potentially affected were initially identified on the basis of a conceptual activities/impacts model that helps to single out geomorphic impacts related to environmental concerns for the area. The following issues were addressed for each individual impact: nature of potential effects; indicators that can be used to measure impacts; criteria of ‘geomorphologic performance’; procedure for measurement/prediction of changes; translation of geomorphologic impacts into significant terms from the viewpoint of human concerns; possible mitigation and/or compensation measures.The procedure has been applied to a case study corresponding to a new motorway in the Basque Country, northern Spain. Geomorphological impacts considered in this analysis included: (1) consumable resources; (2) sites of geomorphological interest; (3) land units with high potential for use, high productivity or value for conservation; (4) visual landscape; (5) slope instability processes. The procedure has been designed for implementation in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. Details are given on the application of the method to each individual impact analysed and results are presented in both numerical and map form.Impacts assessed were initially expressed by means of heterogeneous magnitudes, depending on the geomorphological feature considered. Those geomorphological impacts were then translated into significant terms and homogeneous magnitudes. Integration was carried out on the basis of impact values thus obtained. Final integrated results were also expressed in numerical and map form.The method proposed enables comparison of alternatives as well as ‘prediction’ and assessment of impacts in terms directly related to geomorphic characteristics. It also facilitates the expression of those impacts in terms that allow integration with other types of environmental impacts.     

长江三峡大宁河流域3000年来的环境演变与人类活动

长江三峡大宁河流域张家湾东周-汉代古遗址的孢粉学和沉积学等分析结果表明3000年来该区环境演变与人类活动的互动影响，连续的孢粉和粒度记录证实，该区古人类活动初期处于暖湿的气候，东周-汉代时期转变为温凉略干的温带气候，东周-汉代后，该区经历了一次规模较大的大宁河洪水泛滥期，导致汉代文化层中断。此后不久，由于人类活动剧烈，自然植被严重破坏，水土流失比较严重，山洪灾害频繁，导致汉代之后该区没有连续的文化层堆积，而由于人类活动剧烈，自然植被严重破坏，水土流失比较严重，山洪灾害频繁，导致汉代之后该区没有连续的文化层堆积，而由于短暂洪水暴发引起大面积坡面片流，导致坡积物的大量堆积，汉代之后该区频繁的兴涝灾害和山洪灾害体现了人地关系的复杂性。     

中国环境影响评价中公众参与的有效性有待提高

环境影响评价(EIA)作为协调经济发展与环境保护的手段，已日益成为国家环境管理的重要工具。公众参与是环境影响评价的重要组成部分。从公众参与的概念及作用出发，分析中国环境影响评价中公众参与的机制，认为存在着参与对象选取不合理、参与形式双向性差、调查内容设置不科学、意见整理分析方法不完善及公众参与时段滞后等影响公众参与有效性提高的问题，最后提出注重参与对象的代表性，形式的有效性，内容的科学性，分析的定量化以及权利的保障等，以提高中国环评公众参与的有效性。     

Green Costs,Red Ink: Determinants of Municipal Defensive Expenditures inOntario

Book reviews are in these Articles.

Understanding Peasant Agriculture: An Integrated Land-Use Model for the Punjab Joseph H. Astroth, Jr. Chicago: University of Chicago, Committee on Geographical Studies, 1990. (Geography Research Paper No. 223). ix and 173 pp., maps, photos, figs., apps., biblio., and index; $12.00 paper (ISBN 0-89065-127-2).

National Integration in Indonesia: Patterns and Policies Christine Drake. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1989. xvi and 354 pp., maps, diags., tables, index, and biblio. $35.00 cloth ISBN 0-8248- 1229-8).

Urban Economic Theory: Land Use and City Size. Masahisa Fujita. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989. x and 366 pp., diag., graphs, biblio. notes, append, biblio., index. $65.00 cloth (ISBN 0-521-34662-2).

The Sugar Cane Industry: An Historical Geography from Its Origins to 1914. J. H. Galloway. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, 1989. xiii and 266 pp., maps, tables, diags., index, and biblio. $44.50 cloth (ISBN 0-521-24853-1).

Government Policy and Industrial Change. David Gibbs, ED. New York: Routledge, 1989. xvi and 317 pp., 15 figs., 53 tables, index, and biblio. $59.95 cloth (ISBN 0-415-01032-2).

English Agriculture: An Historical Perspective. David Grigg. New York: Basil Blackwell, 1989. vii and 256 pp. $60.00 cloth (ISBN 0-631-16033-7).

London 2001. Peter Hall. London: Unwin Hyman, 1989. xii and 226 pp., maps, diags., index, and biblio. $34.95 cloth (ISBN 0-04-4451 61 -X).

The Land that Became Israel: Studies in Historical Geography. Ruth Kark, ED. Translated from the Hebrew by Michael Gordon. Jerusalem: The Magnes Press, The Hebrew University and New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1990. x and 332 pp., maps, diags., plates. $27.50 cloth (ISBN 0-300- 04718-5).

Die Farmer-Genossenschaften in den USA – Eine agrargeographie Untersuchung. Werner Klohn. Vechta, Federal Republic of Germany: Vechtaer Druckerei, 1990. Vechtaer Arbeiten zur Geographie und Regionalwissenschaft, Band 9. 285 pp., maps, photos, diags., and biblio. 39.80 DM paper (ISBN 3-88441-083-0).

Agricultural Development in Japan: The Land Improvement District in Concept and Practice. Gil Latz. Chicago, IL University of Chicago Press, 1989. vii and 135 pp., maps, diags., index, and biblio. $12.00 paper (ISBN 0-89065-129-9).

Land Use Planning Made Plain. Hok Lin Leung. Kingston, Ontario: Ronald P. Frye &; Company, 1989. xv and 237 pp., maps, diags., tables, append., index, and refs. $19.95 paper (ISBN 0-919741-98-3).

Computers in Geography. David J. Maguire. New York: Halsted Press, 1989. xv and 248 pp., maps, photos, diags., index, and biblio. $31.95 paper (ISBN 0-470-21 194-6).

Maps with the News: The Development of American Journalistic Cartography. Mark Monmonier. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1989. xii and 331 pp., maps, illus., index, and biblio. $24.95 cloth (ISBN 0-226-53411-1).

Geographic Information Systems and Cartographic Modeling. C. Dana Tomlin. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990. xviii and 249 pp., maps, diags., review questions, selected readings, appendix, index, $44.20 cloth (ISBN 0-13-350927-3).     

Sediment transport on the Freiston Shore managed realignment site: An investigation using environmental magnetism

This paper presents the first attempt to use environmental magnetism to quantify sediment provenance on a managed realignment (MR) site. MR is one technique for creating/restoring intertidal habitats and improving the standard of coastal flood protection. Monitoring of MR sites is essential for determining how successful they are at achieving these aims, and normally includes measurement of sedimentation rates through the use of accretion plates and sediment erosion tables (SETs). One limitation of this technique is that the provenance of sediment accreting on realigned surfaces cannot readily be quantified. Our results demonstrate that magnetics-based fingerprinting can successfully apportion sediment source contributions to created/restored coastal saltmarshes with an efficiency similar to that of existing un-mixing models applied to other habitats (82.87%). Analysis of mineral magnetic properties (χ_FD, IRM_soft and SIRM) demonstrated that the majority of sediment accreting on the Freiston Shore MR Site (Lincolnshire, UK) is derived from established saltmarshes seaward of the breached embankment. This indicates that the MR site may be growing at the expense of neighbouring saltmarshes—thereby undermining the habitat-creation objectives used to justify MR. It is recommended that future MR monitoring programmes consider the provenance of post-breach deposits to help identify any adverse impacts that wetland creation/restoration may have on existing habitats. Further testing of environmental magnetism in coastal saltmarshes and MR sites is necessary to validate wider use of the technique.